Ianto's Dilemma
by Hollyboppers
Summary: Ianto falls through the Rift and finds himself in a parallel universe where Torchwood does not exist; it is just a TV show.
1. Chapter 1: Through the Rift

"What was that?" Jack asked Toshiko who was looking at her computer monitor.  
>"Looks like…" her voice trailed away.<br>"Tosh? What is it?" Gwen asked as the lights began to sway and fizz.  
>"Looks like some dodgy electrics." Owen replied from the medical bay. "Could get Teaboy to go fix it!" motioning to Ianto.<br>"Ha ha. Remember last time that happened?" Jack said, darkly. Ianto noticed his tone of voice and sighed. He concluded that Jack was still cut up about that incident with Lisa. Anise had noticed it too. She knew that Ianto was still angry at her. She tried to take her mind off it and concentrated on Tosh.  
>"Actually, it's the Rift, it's opening up!" Tosh said. "And it's going to happen right in the middle of the Hub." Just as the sentence left her lips, a huge hole seemed to be torn in the middle of the floor. Ianto was closest to it and was holding onto the railings for dear life as it sucked him in!<br>"IANTO!" Jack yelled just as Ianto was pulled through. That was the last thing he heard before the whole world went black.

Leah woke up and pushed her fringe out of her eyes. She checked her clock. 08:27, Friday 10th July, the LED screen told her. She looked around and saw her little sister, Katie, in bed beside her with her thumb in her mouth. She remembered her parents having a party so that they could meet the neighbours and they must have had a lot to drink as the flat smelt slightly of vodka and lime, her mums favourite drink. Her family came from London to Cardiff because her dad had gotten a new job. She got dressed into jeans and her most cherished t-shirt, one she got at London Comic-Con, a science fiction convention. She checked her emails on her laptop. Some messages from her friends, Charlotte, Siobhan and Robert. She replied and then went to the Torchwood Forum to air her disgust at COE, Day Four. Her favourite character was dead. 'Poor Ianto. Not a bad way to go, mind you, in Jacks strong arms. He has been done justice and will be sorely missed.' she typed on one of the many message boards that had appeared overnight. She logged out and left a note on the kitchen table saying that she had gone for a walk and would be back soon. She slipped on her trusty sneakers, sent by her uncle in America, and left.

Leah enjoyed the warm morning air as she walked to Roald Dahl Plass. She gazed in awe at the water tower and as she got to the base of it, her eyes noticed a man, lying in the middle of the Plass. She initially thought he was the result of a stag party's prank, dragged outside while sleeping, but on closer inspection of the mans face, she realised! This was Gareth David-Lloyd, the man she secretly had a crush on! Ianto from Torchwood! Her inner fangirl urged her to scream but she calmed herself down. What was he doing there? Suddenly his eyes opened!

"Ahh!" He heard a startled yelp from nearby. Ianto proceeded to get up but the pain in the back of his head made him lie down again.  
>"Are you OK…sir?" asked a girl's voice. He could see long, black hair and green eyes looking at him.<br>"Yeah. I'm...I'm fine." he replied and was helped to get up by the girl. "What's your name?"  
>"Leah, Leah Harris. You?" she asked, not wanting to sound rude, even though she already knew.<br>"Jones, Ianto Jones." He proceeded to look around and recognised the Plass. She cocked her head in slight confusion and heard a sigh of relief from the Welshman. He then properly looked at her and was drawn to her T-shirt. His eyebrows shot up. "What?"  
>"Hmm?"<br>"What's that? On your t-shirt?" he asked, pointing to the logo.  
>She looked down and replied, "It's Torchwood."<p> 


	2. Chapter 2: Houston, we have a problem

"Uhhh." Jack groaned as the ringing in his ears subsided. The Hub was a mess, paperwork was strewn all over the floor, someones coffee mug was in pieces on the floor, looked like Gwens. He could see the rest of the team getting up and Anise offered a hand. Jack refused and picked himself up. He then proceeded to look for Ianto.  
>"Jack," Tosh said. "It's no use. He's gone."<br>"Through the Rift to God knows where." Owen finished. They could all see Jack holding back tears. "Oh well, no use crying over spilled milk, eh?" All he got in return was a dirty look from Gwen. Jack stormed out, muttering something about checking outside. Toshiko ran after him with a Rift scanner in tow. Gwen and Anise both shot Owen dirty looks for good measure and started to pick up pieces of paper. Owen sighed and began to help.  
>"Do you think he's OK?" Anise asked, clearly upset. Gwen replied,<br>"We can only hope that, if Ianto is dead, he didn't suffer."

"How is that possible?" Ianto asked, clearly shaken by Leah's answer.  
>"What do you mean, how is it possible? You're in the show!" Leah retorted.<br>"The show? God, this is like that John Barrowman thing all over again!"  
>Leah was about to retaliate when she heard a voice come from behind Ianto.<br>"There he is, Ianto!" Jack shouted as he began to run down the Plass.  
>"What do you mean?" Tosh asked as she tried to catch up with him. She nearly collided with him as he came to an abrupt halt.<br>"Right there. He's right there! With a girl." Jack pointed near the base of the water tower. Tosh looked but could see no one. Just as she was going to tell Jack, the Rift scanner gave off a beep.

Beep. Leah spun round and tried to locate the noise. No one behind her, strange. She had heard those voices before. Then she realised.  
>"Ianto? Something tells me this is wrong." she said. "Very, very wrong." Ianto looked at her as if to say 'No! Really?'. She sighed and strained her ears in order to hear Jack and Tosh's conversation.<br>"Jack?" Tosh said. "You better look at this." Jack averted his eyes from the girl and Ianto to look at the scanner. "The readings I'm getting, it's similar to when Anise came through the Rift." Jack looked confused.  
>"So, if you're right, Ianto…is in Anise's universe?" he asked.<br>"Yeah. At least, that's what I hope and according to this readout, it could open again in...three days." Jack looked back at the two figures. Ianto was gone and the girl was running towards the Tourist Office.

"Ianto!" Leah sprinted after the Welshman just as he got to the door. Ianto burst inside, startling the shop assistant and proceeded to the back of the desk.  
>"Sorry sir, you can't come back here." she stuttered, clearly intimidated by him.<br>"Yeah Ianto. Please come back with me, I'll explain everything." Leah soothed him as he repeatedly jammed part of the desk.  
>"It's not here, how can it not be here?" Ianto panicked. He looked at Leahs scared eyes and took a deep breath. "OK, tell me everything." She breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. "OK, back to my place and I'll tell you everything."<p> 


	3. Chapter 3: Deja vu

"OK. Let me get this straight." Owen said when Tosh and Jack had finished explaining. "Ianto isn't dead?"  
>"No, he's not." Jack replied. "He's just in another universe, another reality."<br>"We think, according to these readings," Tosh put them up on the screen. "If we compare them to these results." Another set popped up onto the screen. Anise studied them carefully and gasped.  
>"Figured it out?" Jack smiled at her.<br>"Well," she started. "They look the same so…"  
>"Ianto is in Anise's universe?" Gwen finished. Tosh gave a nod of approval and continued.<br>"If my calculations are correct," she did some sums on her calculator. "The Rift should reopen in three days. Ianto could get back that way."  
>"How are we going to tell him?" Anise asked. They all thought for a while then Jack remembered.<br>"I don't think we need to worry about that." Jack explained. "When myself and Tosh were outside, I saw Ianto and a girl talking. She reacted when the scanner beeped."  
>"What are you getting at, Harkness?" Owen asked.<br>"That girl heard us through the Rift." He was met with confused faces. "She will tell him what she heard. I know it."

Ianto followed Leah up to her flat out of pure confusion. Where was that button? He'd used it so many times before, he'd know where it was even if he was blind. When they reached the flat, she reached into her pocket, took out a key and unlocked the door. She motioned Ianto inside. He went into the kitchen where another girl with curly, blond hair was sitting at the table, eating cereal straight from the box. She rushed to give Leah a hug as she came through.  
>"Hey Katie. Mum and Dad not up yet?" she asked as she sat Katie down. Ianto sat down too and Leah finished the circle at the table. "OK, here's the deal." she started to Ianto, who was looking nervous. "This isn't your universe. I heard Jack and Toshiko on the Plass and..."<br>"How do you know about them?" Ianto asked angrily.  
>Leah sighed and replied, "You are a character in a TV show here, Torchwood. Gwen, Tosh, Owen, Jack. You guys don't exist."<br>"And I don't believe you!" He got up and paced the room. Leah watched him.  
>"He does look cute when he's angry." she thought, her mind drifting. She shook her head. "OK brain, other things to worry about."<br>"I'll give you proof!" She said and went out of the kitchen. Ianto sat down with a groan. He turned on the radio to take his mind off what had just been said.  
>"Hello Cardiff, it is now 9:30 and it is now the news discussion." Sally said sweetly. The familiar news jingle played and Ianto smiled. He remembered fondly him and Jack listening to the radio while cuddling in bed some mornings. "The United States government has released a statement voicing its outrage at the UK for letting 26 year old American author Anise Meraina go missing." Ianto stared at the radio, shocked. Anise? He turned up the volume and listened intently. "Anise was last seen leaving Cardiff City Airport two months ago. She was scheduled to appear on the talk show BBC Wales Today to publicize her first book, Jove, a gritty thriller that had been reviewed on the show but was reported missing when she arrived. Eyewitnesses to the event told police they saw her disappear in a bright light. Now Inspector Martin Gale of Scotland Yard has issued a statement telling the public to be extra vigilant against these kidnappers…" Ianto turned the radio off and thought. So, Leah was right. He remembered when Jack questioned Anise and her comments about the supposed 'show'. Leah came in with a laptop in her arms and noticed Ianto's face.<br>"Yeah, I believe you now." he said to her. She smiled and set down the laptop.  
>"Ianto," she said. "Meet Gareth."<p> 


	4. Chapter 4: Have I seen you before?

"Gareth?" he asked and looked at the picture on screen. It was of a man, on stage, singing to a crowd, dressed in a black tank top and jeans. He looked familiar and then he got it. "That's… that's…"  
>"You?" Leah asked. "Yep, that is the actor who plays you. Wait a sec." She typed for a while and showed him the screen. A picture of Jack was up.<br>"Could I?" Ianto asked motioning to the laptop. "Look up Torchwood?"  
>"Sure. Just be careful, spoilers!" she replied, handing him the laptop. She couldn't resist quoting River Song! "C'mon Katie, brush your teeth."<br>"But I want to stay with the Ianto man." she stuck out her bottom lip. Ianto smiled and said.  
>"You better do as your sister asks, Katie. Otherwise an alien might come after you." Katie ran down the hallway towards the bathroom. Leah laughed.<br>"Wow, I've never been able to do that! Thanks." She followed her down to the bathroom, swearing never to quote Doctor Who ever again! Ianto typed Torchwood into the search bar and hit enter. The page flooded with results. He clicked on the BBC site. The site came up. He then clicked on Characters, then himself. "This should be fun" he thought. All the information checked out even his birthday! Then he got to the bottom of the screen. 'Died Children of Earth, Day Four.' His hands went to his mouth. Died? He did some more research. He did die. How could Leah keep that from him? When she got back from the bathroom, Leah found a note on the laptop. She looked at the screen, then the note. All it said was 'How could you?'

"Jack?" Anise asked as she walked into his office. He was finishing some paperwork and smiled as she came in.  
>"Yeah, what is it?" he asked.<br>"That girl you saw with Ianto. What did she look like?"  
>"Um…she had black hair and green eyes, quite pretty. She was wearing jeans and a black t-shirt. Why do you ask?"<br>"Nothing, just wanted to know." Anise went to her desk and grabbed her coat. "I'm going out for a bit." she told Tosh and then left. 

Leah was becoming frantic. The sun was setting over the Bay and Ianto was still nowhere to be seen. Her parents would be wondering where she was. She sat down on a bench and put her head in her hands. How could she be so stupid? Of course he would look up himself first, it would be natural.  
>"Hey, are you OK?" an American voice asked. Leah looked up and was greeted with a face that had been on the news for the last two months.<p> 


	5. Chapter 5: Seeing Ghosts

"Woah!" Leah jumped a little. "You're…you're…" she faltered. "You're Anise Meraina, that writer who went missing."  
>"How do you know that?" she asked. "And since you know my name, what's yours?"<br>"Leah, Leah Harris. Your face has been on the news for two months now." She sobbed slightly.  
>Anise went to put her hand on Leah's shoulder. It went straight through. Leah<br>gave a nervous smile. "Random Shoes, much?" Anise laughed and then remembered Jack's description.  
>"Were you with Ianto earlier? At the water tower?" Leah nodded. "Where is he?"<br>"Your guess is as good as mine, he's gone missing."  
>"Missing? How, when, why?"<br>"Let's just say, he found something he shouldn't have. Also, where are you? You know, since you're a ghost. Are you dead?"  
>"No! I'm in Torchwood." Leah cocked her head.<br>"Torchwood? That doesn't exist."  
>"I didn't believe it at first either, but after I stepped out of that airport all I could see was a flash of light. I woke up and thought it was all a dream, but the person I was talking to was in fact Jack Harkness. He explained that there are these holes, rips that run along the rift that are constantly moving."<br>"So you fell through one of these...rips?"  
>Anise gave a faint smile. "Yeah." She paused a moment. "Leah, for months ever since I fell through the rift has been haywire. Not only have things from other times and parts of space have fallen through, but also things from different dimensions of reality." Anise explained, Leah watching her intensely. "Rips to other realities are opening all over Cardiff and we don't know why. It's only gotten worse since yesterday. I do know one thing for sure, though. We need to get Ianto back and close these rips up, somehow."<br>"OK. I would love to help you find him but I don't know where he is!" Leah laughed a little before the opening chords of 'Sugarglass' rang out through the stillness of the Plass.  
>"Hey mum. I'm coming back now, OK?" she said goodbye and hung up. She looked back at Anise. "Could we meet up again? Tomorrow?"<br>"Yeah, say 2 o'clock?" Anise asked. Leah nodded, said goodbye and walked home.

"Leah?" asked Katie as she came in to say goodnight. "Where's the Ianto man?"  
>"I don't know." Leah sighed. "I'll find him tomorrow, I know it." She gave Katie a kiss and turned off the light.<br>"Is an alien really gonna get me if I don't do as you say?" Leah laughed.  
>"No."<p>

Anise passed Tosh and Owen leaving for the night as she entered the Hub. She made her way up to Jacks office.  
>"You know I asked you about that girl with Ianto earlier?" she asked him, leaning on the desk where he was finishing some paperwork.<br>"Yeah?" Jack asked, still writing.  
>"Her name's Leah Harris, you know." Jack looked up at her.<br>"How do you know?"  
>"I met her on the Plass while I was out. Also, my hand went through her shoulder when I tried to comfort her. How does that work?"<br>"You must still have some sort of connection with that universe so you come through more vividly that any of us could.  
>"OK, makes sense. Goodnight Jack." She nodded her head and left for her flat.<p>

As she ascended the stairs of her building, she went over her and Leahs conversation. Something he shouldn't have? What does that mean? She looked back to her old universe. Strange to call it that, really. She racked all her Torchwood knowledge to find an answer as she changed for bed. Series 1, nope. Series 2, nada. Children of Earth? She got into bed and realised. Ianto must have found out he dies. That would make anyone go AWOL. 'Better get some sleep.' she thought before her mind drifted off.

Leah was awoken by the harsh thump of Katie's Barbie convertible banging into her door and her dad laughing at something on the radio. She sighed and checked the clock. 12:25. She jumped out of bed and got dressed into a purple tunic and skinny jeans. She went to the kitchen and made some toast.  
>"Hey. What's the rush?" her mum asked her as she sat down at the table.<br>"I'm meeting someone at 2 o'clock and I'm late!" Leah replied as she munched her toast.  
>"Is it a boy?" her dad sighed behind his newspaper. "Leah, we've been over this."<br>"It's not a boy, dad. It's just… a friend." Leah finished and went to the bathroom to brush her teeth and do her hair and makeup.  
>"Leah?" Katie asked as she was doing her mascara. "Can I come with you?"<br>"Hmmm?" she asked.  
>"To find Ianto. Can I come?" Leah sighed.<br>"OK, we could use another set of eyes." Katie ran to get her shoes on and they left at 1:45pm.

Anise waited at the base of the water tower with her head down. She didn't know what would happen if she was found. She went to check her watch and saw her arm. It was nearly completely transparent. She ran her fingers through her short hair. She must be losing the connection with this universe.  
>"Hey." Leah said as she got closer to Anise. "Sorry, my sister wanted to come too."<br>Anise smiled at the young girl. "Hey." She looked at Leah. "I don't have much time here so the sooner we find Ianto, the better." They started to walk, Katie skipping ahead and investigating nearly everything.  
>"What do you mean by 'I don't have much time here'?" Leah asked. Anise pulled up her sleeve and showed her her arm.<br>"I'm fading away. Soon I won't be here anymore. I'm going to lose all connection to this world and I won't be able to come back." As they turned the corner, Katie called out.  
>"Found him!" she pointed to the top of a tall building where Ianto was poised to jump.<p> 


	6. Chapter 6: Desperate Times

Ianto looked down towards the growing group of people who had congregated around the base of the building. Some people had camera phones, he could see the glint of the lenses from the sunlight. He took a deep breath, the wind making his jacket flap slightly. Just as he was going to jump, the door behind him banged open.  
>"Ianto!" Anise ran through the door with Leah and Katie close behind her. "What are you thinking?" she asked between breaths. Ianto looked at her, his eyes wide with shock.<br>"Anise? What are you doing here?" he asked.  
>"I still have a strong connection with this reality so I'm like a ghost here. But I'm fading fast." She showed him her arm which was, by this stage, nearly completely transparent along with her sleeve.<br>"So we need you to get you off this roof now." Leah asked him, her fear obvious. Ianto looked at Leah with a fierce scowl on his face.  
>"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked her. "I have a right to know when I die!" The crowd gasped as they saw Ianto grab Leah and shake her slightly. "Tell me now!" Leah threw a nervous glance to the crowd and to Anise and Katie who were watching intently.<br>"Let me go, please!" Leah was near tears. She'd always had an underlying fear of heights and this was terrifying. Ianto let her go and she grabbed the iron railings, taking deep breaths as she calmed herself down.  
>"Ianto, she could never tell you." Anise told him. "No one's supposed to know when they die, it just isn't natural."<br>"That is no excuse! That's why I'm doing this. I mean, it's not like anyone will remember me." He scoffed. "I just clean up their shit, no questions asked. Just a little teaboy, Ianto Jones." Katie could see tears appearing in the man's blue eyes. She walked up to him and took his hand.  
>"Leah won't, she loves you." Ianto looked at Leah, who was looking shocked.<p>

"Katie!" she shushed the little girl, her cheeks going red.

"But, you cried when he died and you went on that forum and told everyone."

"But I wasn't the only one." Leah suddenly had an idea. She took out her phone and began working on it. Anise walked over to Ianto, motioning to Katie to join her sister. Ianto was facing off the edge of the building, getting ready to jump.  
>"I asked Jack about what happens now that I'm at Torchwood since my turning up didn't happen in the show." She said sincerely. Ianto looked at her. "Ianto, I'm your friend. I wouldn't lie to you. And I won't let you die that way...I promise."<p>

"You knew the whole time and you didn't tell me either! What sort of a friend are you?" he snapped at her.

"You can't just tell someone their future, there are dire consequences." she tried to pull him away from the ledge but her hand went straight through again. "I've not got much time left and I'm getting sick of that!" She looked at Ianto and saw that he was fading away along with Leah and Katie. Her hand shot out to grab him. "Ianto, wait! IANTO!" He disappeared and she was left alone on the roof, the hole in time and space had closed up and she had lost all connection. Anise looked down at all the people who were trying to get her to come down from the roof. Anise stomped her foot. "DAMNIT!" She felt tears in her eyes. She covered her face in shame. "No, Ianto..please don't do it.." She didn't notice the police officers behind her about to grab her. They managed to grab her and kept her away from the ledge."NO! Ianto! Let me go! Send me back! Send me back!"

"Hold her! She's a nutter!" One of the officers said, struggling to keep a grip on her. "C'mon, let's get you down." They walked her, kicking and screaming, towards the stairs.

"What happened?" Katie asked, holding Leahs hand hard.

"Her time ran out, she's gone for good." Ianto replied shortly and turned away.

"Ianto, wait!" Leah looked straight into the man's eyes. "Will killing yourself really sort all this out?"

"Well, I can't go home, can I? I have to do this!" He turned away.

"You're wrong! When we first met, on the Plass, I heard Jack and Tosh talking. The Rift will reopen tomorrow, you can go home." She put her hand on his shoulder, she felt him tense up. "Trust me." He thought for a while and then put his hand on top of hers. The crowd cheered as they walked to the stairwell.


End file.
